Newly elected NHGOP chair Horn first, and possibly most important decision

Jennifer Horn's first day on the job as the state Republican Party chair was on Monday, but along with meeting after meeting getting caught up on the state of the party, she faces her first and probably most important decision of her political career: who to hire as the state party's executive director.

New Hampshire Republicans gathered in Bedford today to elect a new party chair. Two time Congressional candidate Jennifer Horn, of Nashua, defeated conservative activist Andrew Hemingway, of Bristol, for the right to lead Republicans for the next two years.

The current executive director wants out and typically a new party chair is given the ability to place whomever they want in the key role. Horn's political comeback story through the party's chairman position is tenuous. With all the backing of the state's party's establishment she only won the contest by 33 votes. Tuesday morning, the conservative editorial page of the Union Leader wondered openly if her chairmanship "is a project doomed to failure."

To be successful, she will need a highly competent executive director. Since the state Republican Party doesn't pay its chair, the executive director is the most highly paid full time position in terms of party structure.

While party leaders talk on social media about party unity, behind the scenes there is an intense lobbying effort underway to get "their" person in the top job. The old Mitt Romney people have "their person." Consultant Mike Biundo is pushing for his kind. There are the long time Horn loyalists. Some just need a job. (And while there are positive attributes being promoted there are also a lot of trashing potential threats.)

This is not even mentioning the obvious vested interest that potential Republican candidates in 2014 (e.g. Kevin Smith, Frank Guinta, John E. Sununu, Jeb Bradley) have of getting someone "friendly" in the role as they face primaries next year. Additionally the party's grassroots who back's Horn's opponents in the chairman's race are loudly demanding an olive branch.

Among the names in the mix are (in no particular order) Horn's former campaign manager David Chesley, Rick Santorum's deputy national political director Nick Pappas, former Santorum and Mitt Romney staffer Kristen Beaulieu, longtime Romney aide Jill Neunaber, Romney's New Hampshire state director Phil Valenziano, Republican consultant and lobbyist Matt Murphy, state RNC victory director Brennan Ward, and current state GOP political director Jake Avery.

In an interview Horn said she hoped to be full staffed up at the committee two or three weeks.

As for what she is looking for she stressed competence and said that she wasn't opposed to looking out of the state for the right person.

"I am not married to doing a traditional political organization structure," she said. "I am not married to titles."

What will be interesting to watch is if Horn will get to make this decision on her own or what sort of approval will U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte's team play. By title, this state party is Ayotte's party and Horn got elected because of Ayotte's backing and her team in clearing the rest of the field and lining up votes.

If Team Ayotte really felt strongly one way or the other about a hire, it will have a lot of sway.

Picking the wrong executive director would not only be just bad for the party, but perhaps devastating to any larger future in politics for Horn.